You need to opt for third-party delivery services for restaurants if you don’t have the manpower to make deliveries.
But choosing the right food delivery service provider isn’t easy. Not all delivery companies are the same. Some charge high delivery fees, while others may not deliver food on time.
So, which delivery service for restaurants should you choose?
We’ve listed down the best food delivery service for restaurant owners in this article to assist you. Also, we’ve shared the benefits and drawbacks of third-party food delivery and why in-house delivery is gaining popularity.
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Which Food Delivery Service Is Best for Restaurants?
Below are the top five food delivery services for restaurants.
#1 DoorDash
DoorDash is a hot favorite among many restaurant owners and offers one of the best delivery services for restaurants.
According to a report by Bloomberg Second Measure, DoorDash earned 58% of meal delivery sales in the U.S. in January 2022.
DoorDash has a strong brand purpose which is eliminating food waste. They offer a 30-day free trial and charge a 30% commission fee after that.
The company claims that restaurant owners were able to increase their profits during the COVID-19 pandemic using DoorDash.
#2 Grubhub
Grubhub also offers the best delivery service for restaurant owners and allows you to accept orders through their app, website, or your own site. The company was founded in 2004, so it’s a well-established delivery service provider.
To give you an example of Grubhub’s popularity, the company processes over 745,000 daily orders. Customers enjoy GrubHub because of its subscription service.
The company offers software for restaurant delivery service to its partner restaurants to help them manage deliveries and orders. Plus, with Grubhub, restaurants get an extended customer base.
Grubhub charges a 10% delivery fee plus a processing fee of $0.30+3.05% per transaction. That means you need to pay a 13.5% commission fee on every order. Also, you need to pay an additional 20% as a marketing fee for delivery orders placed through their app of website.
Use this profit calculator from Grubhub to figure out how much profit you can make by partnering with the company.
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#3 UberEats
UberEats was launched in 2014 and has since become a massive global success. Customers can view your menus, review, and rate your restaurant through the app.
The company provides offers multiple pricing plans to help you market your restaurant through their platform.
Uber Eats charges a 15% to 30% commission fee for delivery orders. Many restaurant owners find UberEats’ services the best food delivery service for restaurant owners because they are quick, especially on busy days.
#4 Postmates
Postmates offers one of the best delivery services for restaurants in the U.S. You may prefer to use the service because their commission fees are negotiable. This makes Postmates excellent for new restaurants on a budget. What’s more, you get the added benefit of having no credit card processing fees.
The reason customers enjoy Postmates is because they also make deliveries for other goods. They deliver drinks, groceries, cigarettes, and more.
In partnership with UberEats, Postmates provides you the visibility, flexibility, and customer insights you need to connect with more customers.
#5 Just Eat
Just Eat has been in the food delivery industry for 21 years. It’s a leading food delivery marketplace that connects customers to restaurants. Once you sign up for Just Eat’s services, a team of specialists creates your menu on their app. From there, you can start accepting online orders.
Similar to other delivery services for restaurants, Just Eat is an excellent platform to market your establishment. Customers can search for your restaurant in their local area to start ordering. They also have a lower commission rate of 14% per order.
The Advantages of Using a Third-party Food Delivery Service
The most significant benefit is you don’t have to hire and train your staff or purchase additional vehicles to deliver food to your customers. That’s a boon for newly opened restaurants.
Plus, established restaurants with a high volume of orders can use third-party delivery services for restaurants to reduce overhead costs and make deliveries with zero hassles.
Third-party delivery service providers also help increase brand awareness. The best food delivery services for restaurants allow you to list your restaurant on their apps. People scrolling through this list will see your restaurant, enticing them to order from you.
The Disadvantages of Using Food Delivery Services for Restaurants
Many companies offering delivery services for restaurants charge high commission fees, so you may struggle to make a profit from your online orders.
For example, 60-years old Tito’s Tacos in Culver City, California, had a profit margin of 3% to 4% in an average month. But delivery apps charged them more than 15% commission fees, so they didn’t really have any profit margin.
“We would lose money on every delivery. It just didn’t make sense,” said Wirt Morton, co-owner of Tito’s Tacos to Laist.
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Another drawback to third-party delivery services is that you don’t have control over the services they offer. They may be slow to deliver or treat your customers poorly. This can severely damage your restaurant’s reputation.
You may also become vulnerable to your competition. Especially if there are other restaurants in your area listed on the delivery service’s app.
Is Self-Delivery Better than Third-party Delivery Services for Restaurants?
In-house delivery may cost you more to buy vehicles and set up insurance policies, but you’ll have complete control over the services you offer.
Furthermore, you don’t have to pay hefty commission fees. Therefore, the profit you make from orders will be yours.
Plus, you’ll have access to your customer database. This allows you to send out personalized marketing material to your customers.
According to a report by Sense360, a consumer behavioral intelligence solutions provider, 63% of consumers prefer to order delivery directly from the restaurant.
Learn in detail about In-house vs. Third-party delivery and which is right for you.
Use Food Delivery Software to Set Up A Delivery Service For Your Restaurant
Many restaurants use delivery software for restaurant delivery service, and you should use such software too. Below are several reasons you should use a food delivery app like Route4Me.
- It comes with an interactive map feature that helps you evaluate your capabilities before taking on new customers.
- Route4Me’s route optimizer comes with Dynamic Route Optimization™ technology that helps you automate your route planning and plan well-optimized routes for your delivery drivers to deliver hot food.
- The food delivery software helps you with schedule optimization and ensures balanced workload distribution.
- It comes with a GPS tracking app that helps you monitor your vehicles on the road in real-time on a map and ensure driver safety.
- Route4Me’s delivery route planner comes with a territory management feature that efficiently helps you design and manage territories.
- The software comes with a reporting and analytics feature that helps you track every crucial detail of your delivery operations, including fuel expenses, total distance traveled, and much more.
- The best route planners like Route4Me are cloud-based and come with mobile apps so you can plan and access routes on the go.
- Route4Me’s route optimization software comes with a customer portal that allows your customers to track their deliveries on their own.
- It comes with an in-app voice-guided navigation feature to ensure safe and distraction-free driving.
- Route4Me’s vehicle routing software comes with an eSignature feature that helps you ensure electronic proof of delivery.
Learn more about why you need food delivery software and how to get started with a food delivery driver app.
Final Thoughts about Choosing the Best Food Delivery Services for Restaurants
Third-party delivery services for restaurants may help you to some extent. Still, you should have the option of self-delivery to reduce dependency on the delivery apps and improve your profit margin.
Setting up in-house delivery is easy when you use Route4Me. We have a dedicated customer onboarding and support team to help you set up and answer any questions.
We even offer a seven-day free trial to help you test the waters and see how it can help you offer self-delivery.
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